Nimitz set to replace Ike in Persian Gulf area

The Navy said Sunday it was replacing an aircraft carrier now departing the Middle East as part of the Bush administration’s stepped up military presence in the Persian Gulf area.

The aircraft carrier Nimitz and the accompanying ships of its strike group were expected in Mideast waters within two days, replacing the departing carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, said Navy Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet....